When Totonno’s Pizzeria reopens, it will be just as customers remember.
“Everything is exactly the same,” co-owner Cookie Ciminieri told this newspaper. “When they walk in, it’ll be like they never missed it. It’ll be the same look and they’ll get the same pizza. What more could they want?”
A margherita slice would do the trick for Totonno’s loyal fans, who have spent months waiting for the eatery to reopen at 1524 Neptune Avenue. It was nearly destroyed in a devastating fire last March.
Just one week ago, Ciminieri told this paper that Totonno’s would reopen on Wednesday, February 10. But at press time, Ciminieri wasn’t sure if that was doable.
Ciminieri said the city Health Department cancelled Totonno’s operating license because it was closed for several months. As a result, the owners were forced to apply for a new license just one day before the scheduled reopening.
It has taken nearly a year to get Totonno’s up and running because restoring the original building was more time-consuming than expected.
“It was very badly damaged,” Ciminieri said. “We had to raise the oven, which is hundreds of tons, with a crane. Everything took a long time.”
